The Worldwound War

Evil is rising

Discovering the army transport

With the Ninja sent away deliver information to both the Pathfinder Society and the civil authorities, the PC’s were free to explore the remaining rooms in the army staging outpost. For that indeed is what these halls are intended to be used for.

The players managed to free a captive Paladin and Cleric who were on an expedition searching for holy relics for the war against demonkind to the far North. They found no relics but have taken an interest in helping your investigation.

You also attempted a surgical rescue of a lady Minotaur, but it was sadly unsuccessful and when removing the leg that was attached to her chest, she perished from the shock. Demons is nasty.

You explored the demon Captain’s quarters – and with Ivan’s help and the information gleaned from a Quatsit named Gimplemeyer as well as the Minotaur cook, you have learned the plans of the Worldwound demons: To attack the “wardstones” from behind and destroy them using the artifact, referred to as the “Woundbridge”. They are amassing a strike force in the Worldwound and will transport them to this staging area by way of four “Demi-planes”. They have been bartering souls to secure passage, and your information indicates that it is about to happen very soon.

You dare not attempt to destroy the “gates” to these planes, but you can journey to the planes and destroy the “key” from the other side.

You have found a pin on the captain that seems to provide passage for a limited number through the “Gates”. Ivan has ascertained that it has 20 charges left on it, and requires one charge per person.

You are now preparing yourselves for your journey. You know not what to expect, but you do know it will be very different from the world you are in now…

After a short recovery from the previous day’s battle with the Trolls and Demon, the players descended once again into the tunnels below, hoping that they had cleared out the denizens lurking there. That proved to other than the case, as they were beset by another demon, leading a squad of trolls.

The quick-thinking Ninja (Ivan had hired) was with you this time, and he released magical smoke into the caverns that obscured all vision but his own. While others flailed about running into walls, the Ninja delivered death to the trolls. The demon, acutely aware of the Ninja’s tactic, snatched the Ninja’s Ever-smoking Bottle and fled, smashing the item in hopes of clearing the air and leveling the playing field. But it was too late, the PC’s cut him down (without extracting any information of course), and left the tunnels quiet once again.

Based on tiny bit of information they collected so far, the PC’s believe that this area was/is to be some kind of staging area for an army. They guess that at least 400 soldiers could be barracked here. Perhaps a vanguard or elite leading force? So far the only creature the PC’s have left alive is the ogre cook, who fled down the tunnels before the carnage began.

There is more to explore… however their employer, the Pathfinder Ivan, sent the Nija back to Vauntil to report these discoveries to headquarters.

After discovering the staircase leading down into the mountain, the adventurers descended into an underground labyrinth simply crawling with evil. What they discovered was an armed outpost of sorts, guarded by armored cave trolls, and commanded by a demon from the pit of the abyss itself.

The terrible battle left two of your members for dead. One recovered and the other was raised by your pathfinder employer, who used one of the last scrolls in his possession to do so.

This astounding discovery had led to further questions: Who is arming these creatures, and training them? What are they doing here in the Hungry Mountains, and how can they be linked to Demonic forces so far from the Worldwound? Do they have the artifact, or are they hunting for it?

These and many more question occupy your minds as you limp back up the stairs to the “safe” chambers above.

Adventure Log Two:

While telling your tales of adventure back at the Hungry Ogre Inn in Vauntil, you are approached by a local member of the Pathfinder Society. He has taken a great interest in the Hall of Mirrors that you claim to have discovered, and he proposed hiring your group to return there with him that he might investigate your claims.

You agreed, and set out into the Hungry Mountains once again. The journey was nearly cut short by a wyvern attack on the snowy mountain path, but you miraculously escaped the peril and found your way once again to the caverns and halls that had once been teeming with ice trolls.

In the mean time, the Pathfinder revealed to you that he was searching for a dangerous artifact. Once capable of creating a doorway into the Worldwound that demons could potentially use to enter our world with much greater ease. The artifact, that resembles an iron disk, has been missing from Absalom.

Eventually his investigations led him to the Rakshasha’s chambers where, by using several scrolls, he located a secret passage under the summoning circle. A cylinder of stone rose up from the floor, and carved in the cylinder was a doorway with stairs descending down into the darkness.

Adventure Log One:

You began in the last adventure in Vauntil, a lakeside trading trading city in southern Ustalav in the county of Caliphas. Ustilav is one of the civilized realms on the northern shores of Lake Encartas. Be sure to read up on Ustalav

You are adventures for hire, and have recently returned from a job in the Hungry Mountains, tracking down a phylactery for a Litch – though you didn’t know that. You thought the Barron Varishkov had been murdered and you were bringing a ransom treasure in exchange for his body and a scroll of resurrection. His daughter Natalia was the one who hired you. Of course she was the Litch in disguise, and he needed some flunkies to risk life and limb to go after the Rakshasa who had stolen his phylactery (and his spell book).

The Raksasha of course was attempting to sell the Litch’s soul to a demon lord – bad idea by the way – and had almost pulled it off when you showed up and foiled his plans. Then the Litch showed up and happily retrieved his phylactery, (and his spell book). The half-summoned demon lord devoured the Raksasha, and you… were free to go.

Of course the real Barron and his daughter were murdered by the Litch and a summoned Ice Troll, so it was all a ruse, and you were half-paid pawns.